This Time Around

OH MY GOSSHHHHHH!!!

I am a terrible blogger.

I am so sorry that I have been absent for nearly a week now! The last week has been absolutely CRAZY. I was swamped with tests and homework assignments all week. To add to the stress, it’s recruiting time for all of the major accounting firms, so I’ve been attending TONS of networking events.

Friday afternoon, I literally came home, dropped onto the couch, and didn’t move (except to visit the pantry/refrigerator several times) until 9:00PM to go to sleep.

Needless to say, I am feeling much more rested and ready to tackle the week ahead!

Thanks for all of your awesome comments about my afternoon with my grandpa. I was so glad that I could put my healthy eating “rules” to the side and just enjoy a day with my wonderful family. So glad you all approved!

One exciting piece of news that I have to share with you all is that last night, I registered for the Sarasota Half Marathon in Sarasota, FL in March! It’s the same half-marathon that I ran last year with my mom; both of our first!

The best part is that this year my beautiful sister is going to join in on the fun!

Watch out, world! We’re gonna rock this race!

I so badly wanted to run another half-marathon on September 11th, and had hoped to be training for a marathon by this point, but all of my injuries have prevented that.

For new readers (hi! ), I tore a muscle in my calf last March and then have had some knee issues this summer.

The first thing I thought about when we registered for the Sarasota half again was all of the things that I am going to do differently this time around.

1. Actually follow my training schedule!

Imagine that! I followed Hal Higdon’s Novice Training Plan and felt that it prepared me very well for the race. However, I honestly didn’t follow it as closely as I feel that I should have.

For one thing, I didn’t take a rest day every week. I would run a long run on Saturday and instead of resting the next day, I’d cross train. My poor body was so exhausted! I’ve talked before about being bad about resting, but it’s just so important. I think one of the many reasons I got injured was because I was overdoing it.

2. Only run 3-4 times per week maximum!

This year while I was training, even on days that the plan specifically said cross train, I decided to run instead. I absolutely love to run; I enjoy it more than any other form of exercise. But once again…I completely wore myself out. Taking days to do the elliptical, yoga or swim are going to be regular occurrences in my new training schedule!

3. Shave some time off

This March, I finished in about 1 hour and 51 mins. Next year, I want to shave off at least ten minutes. Hopefully more, but I don’t wanna be too optimistic! Haha, we’ll see!

4. Refuel properly.

I feel like I was really good about fueling for my runs. My favorite pre-run breakfast is a sandwich or bagel thin with a hefty helping of PB and a banana.

However, I really don’t think I understood the importance of refueling quickly after my runs. I’d burn anywhere 500-1000 calories on my longer runs, but I didn’t increase my calories quite enough to replace all that I had lost. I think that was another mistake that contributed to my injuries.

Well, thanks to the awesome guys over at EAS, I should have NO problem refueling from workouts! Jon from EAS contacted me a few weeks ago to see if I’d be interested in trying out any products.  I was thrilled to find two huge boxes of loot on my porch this morning!

They sent me several boxes of Myoplex Lite protein bars (not all of it is pictured above) and a BILLION packets of post-workout protein powder!

The nutritional stats of the protein bar are good (pictured above), but the taste is seriously the BEST part. I haven’t had a protein bar that I have liked this much in a long time! Chocolate on top of chocolate. It honestly tastes like a chocolate milkshake in protein bar form haha.

The post-training recovery shake is also delicious! Jon sent me strawberry, so I used a packet this morning in my protein shake. 35 grams of protein?! So legit! I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the strawberry flavor, but it was really good and definitely not chalky.

I won’t need to start actually training for the half-marathon until November or so, but it’s always good to be well prepared! Thanks, Jon!

Meanwhile, I am going to stick to a lot of cross training (elliptical and bike) and weight training. I don’t want to hit the ground running (literally) too soon, because I want to be healthy and pain-free when training time does start! So exciting!

I hope you had a great Monday, friends! Can’t wait to catch up on your blogs

Are you training for any races right now?

Have you changed anything about your training plans after running a race and preparing for your second?

Favorite food for training/recovery?!

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Posted by healthycollegegirl on September 19, 2011

http://healthycollegegirl.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/this-time-around/